Guarding the Body
by Miss Strange
Summary: CHAPTER TWO IS UP! The first rule of a bodyguard is: DO NOT GET ATTACHED TO THE SUBJECT. Obviously, Gaara did not read the handbook, because falling in love with the client's daughter definitely falls under that category... GAAHINA AU
1. The Client with the Body

**A/N: Welcome one and all to my story, ****Guarding the Body****! Yay!**

**Jin: For those of you reading ****Speak****, not to fear! This story shouldn't interfere with ****Speak**** in anyway—I hope…**

**Nah, no worries; moving along, this story is rated T for teens, not M for mature even though the title sounds that way…Heh…**

**Jin: Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto and its characters, but we do own the OCs and the plot so please do not steal!**

**Ah yes, no flaming either; they shall be used to warm our feet during winter! Now, onwards!**

**Jin: Please enjoy and review!**

Guarding the Body

_-The Client with the Body-_

_Where are they?!_

Hiashi paced the room in irritation, his mind in a fit. Every so often, he would glance up at the clock, growling and twitching in anger when he saw that only a minute or two had passed; he had been up and treading back and forth in his room ever since he woke up. Hiashi had locked his door and pulled open his window, keeping an eye on the driveway to see if a familiar black car would pull up; he hadn't even gone down to eat breakfast or to kiss his daughters good bye before they left for school. When the maids came up and knocked on his door—it was time to clean his room—they earned an earful shout that caused them to scurry down the hall and around the corner before a second even passed!

_How long does it take to get here anyways?!_

It was very important to Hiashi that he not be disturbed while he waited for his guests to arrive. The butlers and maids had never seen him so furious; from past experiences with his anger though, they knew to stay clear of him or else they'd receive consequences that were too disturbing to think of.

A chain of knocks on the door caused him to look toward the entrance in pure annoyance; a glare of hatred fell onto his face.

"What is it?" Hiashi growled, a vein throbbing in his temple. "Unless the house is on fire, leave me be!"

"But…sire," came the small voice of a butler. "You have guests…"

"Guests?" Hiashi raised a brow; he scrambled through a black door beside his closet that led to his office. Shoving open the door, he ran to his desk and pulled open the first drawer, taking out a small black agenda. Flipping to a page, his eyes rapidly scanned the words written in his own cursive handwriting.

"There is nothing planned at this hour unless…" Hiashi quickly dropped the little book on his desk and dashed back to his room, almost tripping over his robe in the process. Leaning over his window, he saw three black cars that were not there before; they didn't belong to any of his business partners, nor did they belong to him and his servants couldn't possibly afford such expensive-looking vehicles! That could only mean…

"They're here!" Hiashi grinned. Closing and locking his window, he rapidly stripped himself and pulled on the fanciest suit he owned. Afterwards, he flung open his door—earning a shocked shriek from his butler—and hurried past his servants, down the stairs and into the living room where three people stood, silently waiting for him. Looking around, he saw that his servants were peering at him and the three curiously, wondering what was going on; many of them knew their master's routine. Normally, he didn't wake up until after his daughters left, and then an hour or two later, he would have his business partners come over and they would lock themselves in his office and discuss important matters. Hiashi having strange company at such an early hour was unusual to them.

"Leave us," Hiashi ordered; the maids and butlers hastily disappeared at his command. When he was sure that they were all gone and out of earshot, he motioned for them to take a seat on the classy leather couches; they did so as he sat on the opposite side of them. Soon, they were covered in silence as they each eyed each other suspiciously, for it was the first time they had met. True, Hiashi was the one who called the three, but he had never met them face to face before; his friend had said that they were good at what they did, and keeping their faces hidden from potential enemies was their number one priority.

The head of the Hyuuga clan leaned back into the chair and observed the faces of the infamous Sabaku Trio. They didn't look to be powerful assassins and bodyguards; they were just…kids!

The Sabaku to his far left had spiky brown hair; he seemed to be somewhere around twenty. There were strange purple markings on his face; it only served to increase the creepiness. Hiashi assumed him to be the one known as the Puppet Master; he had heard about the Puppet Master from a business partner. Apparently, the he was the second oldest of the Trio; he was trained in the ancient art of using large puppets as a form of defense and offense. The Puppet Master operated in the shadows, ambushing and attacking from the opponent's blind spot for a quick end to their life.

Purple eyes turned to the blonde female, analyzing her. A female working as an assassin; now _that_ was unheard of! She had four ponytails in the back of her head; it was a strange fashion style, but she seemed to pull it off very well. Immediately, Hiashi could tell that she was the oldest of the group; she sat with her back straight and with her hands folded in her lap; there was an air of maturity around her. Her black dress reached her knees, allowing Hiashi to see the tattoo on her left ankle: a black serpent coiling around a red P. He remembered hearing that the female dealt with poisoning; Hiashi managed to suppress a shiver.

Turning his attention the one in the middle, it was obvious that the red head was the youngest; he had a strangely pale complexion, and eyes that were a mix of blue and green—turquoise, or sea green perhaps. Hiashi had been told of the youngest one; he was probably the strongest out of the three. His reflexes were superior, and his shooting abilities were second to none; though he wore a black coat, Hiashi knew that there was a weapon or two concealed beneath it.

_He is the most dangerous._ Hiashi thought, frowning. _His eyes…_

"You're late." Hiashi accused gruffly.

The blonde raised a brow, confused at the accusation. "What are you talking about?" she said, looking at her watch. "We arrived at eight as required."

Hiashi glanced at the clock above the fire place and grunted; folding his arms, he gazed at them once more. "What is your name?" he asked.

"Our names are irrelevant," the brown haired man protested, narrowing his eyes at Hiashi.

"If we are to do business together, I need your names." Hiashi returned the glare with a fierce one of his own; years of practice with his servants finally did him some good. "Knowing a person's name is the first step towards trust."

Before the brunette could say something that would insult Hiashi, the blonde female raised a hand, a gesture for him to shut up; reluctantly, he followed his older sister's orders, but the glower never ceased.

"Very well," she said, nodding. "My name is Temari Sabaku; these are my brothers. The idiot one over there,"—she pointed at the brown-headed man—"is Kankurou, and this is Gaara." She placed an arm around her youngest brother's shoulder, leaning her head against his. "He's not as scary as he looks."

"I am Hiashi Hyuuga, head of the Hyuuga clan," Hiashi announced, ignoring her last comment. He clapped his hands, a signal for a young maid to scurry toward them with a tray of tea; she slipped on her long dress, but managed not to drop the dish—a glare from her master warned her not to. She placed down four cups and swiftly but effectively poured the tea in without spilling a drop. With another look from Hiashi, she ran and disappeared in one of the nearby rooms.

Picking up a cup, Hiashi sipped the hot tea with a satisfied grin. "That girl may be clumsy," he said, referring to the maid that had just run off. "But she makes one heck of a tea."

Only Temari bothered to accept a cup; she was the only one who was fond of the bitter drink; Kankurou preferred beer and Gaara mainly drank water.

Hiashi cleared his throat, a signal that the meeting was going to begin. "Now, I have called you here because someone told me that you are the best in what you do, and I need the best of the best to accept this mission I will assign if I see you fit for the task." He paused to see if there were any changes in their faces; he had to make sure there was no doubt. "If you tend to run from battle more often than not, I suggest you take whatever you brought with you and leave. There will be _no_ room for hesitation in my assignment; should there be any sort of uncertainty, it is most likely that you will fail the task."

Kankurou leaned forward from his position on the couch, finally interested in what the old man had to say; the only reason he was in the family business was because he was promised money, beer, and adventure. If the responsibility was dull and boring, lacking no fun whatsoever, he would decline and move on to the next client. They were a very famous group, especially among underground lords; the Sabaku Trio received many requests per day, so if one was not up to their standards, they didn't have any trouble finding another customer.

"Are we going to assassinate someone important?" Kankurou asked, smirking with anticipation.

"No," Hiashi said, mentally chuckling when he saw Kankurou's beam falter into a frown. "It is much more difficult than that."

Temari glanced at Kankurou and gave him a glare that meant "silence." Kankurou glowered at her, but did as he was told.

"Continue," Gaara spoke for the first time that evening; Hiashi turned his gaze onto the youngest of the group.

"Yes, well," Hiashi nodded, taking another nip from his drink. "As you know, I am a distinguished owner of the Hyuuga companies, not to mention I run the biggest black market known to the Underground City. Many lords want the kind of power I have, so it is crucial that I go out with many protectors ready to safeguard me from any and all attacks from my enemies.

"For years, they have been targeting me, using all kinds of tricks—from traps to snipers; everything far and in between, but I have dodged each and every ambush. I have survived many assaults and though I have lost servants to their acts of violence, they have never once directed their evil eyes at my daughters—until now.

"My daughters are very important to me; I wish for my oldest daughter to take over my business when I retire, and it seems that the idiot lords have finally figured it out. Unfortunately, they have started to pursue my children—Hinata and Hanabi. The weaker organizations are proposing a marriage so that we may unite together, but I have no intention of doing so."

"So, what you're saying is," Kankurou began, though he promised he wouldn't interrupt; receiving a glare from Temari and Gaara, he ignored them and continued. "You want us to protect your daughters?"

"I want you to guard my daughter's body." Hiashi corrected.

Kankurou blinked, obviously confused at the statement. "…What?"

Hiashi rolled his eyes, annoyed at the man's slow procedure of processing information. "Like I said, some of the groups have been insisting on marriage so that they could feed off my power; I am not dumb. I know their intentions. But, they will not go down without a fight; there is a high probability that they would send their son to come after my Hinata; if their son should rape her,"—he practically hissed the word out—"And she gets pregnant, there will be much chaos and trouble. I want you to protect my daughter's body—that means: keep everyone away from her, even the females."

Temari raised a brow. "Even the females?" she repeated.

"There are some crazy people in the Undeground City, Miss Temari," Hiashi said gravely, recalling a recollection of how three highly trained little girls were sent after him one dark night. He only survived because of pure luck and the little assassins' obsession with teddy bears. Though it shamed him to say, he had been very frightened; that was the only time he was a hair's inch away from death.

"Protect you and your daughters," Temari thought aloud, making sure she had her information correct. "Sounds easy enough."

"Too easy…" Kankurou mumbled, slouching in his chair.

Hiashi acted as if he wasn't interrupted, calmly drinking his tea and then started his talk once more. "Now, of course, for such an important task, the payment will be worth your while."

"How much?" Gaara asked; his siblings glanced at him, curious and slightly worried about his sudden reaction. Gaara would never speak during their meetings with the client; he would generally sit quietly and watch with a critical eye, only speaking when absolutely necessary. They were concerned about him; ever since the meeting they had with the strange men in black coats, Gaara had been acting stranger and stranger each day.

Hiashi took a deep breath as if his next words were going to mortally wound him, and they probably would; money was everything to the underground lords. People feared you if you had power, and to have power, you needed money—lots of it. "I am prepared to give you 2 hundred thousand yen."

Gaara frowned; that was a lot of money, but as he thought back to what the doctors said…it wasn't enough. Two hundred thousand yen was not enough; they needed more than that—or it would be too late.

"No," the red head said abruptly.

"No?" Hiashi and Gaara's two siblings repeated, all dumbfounded.

"It's not enough."

Hiashi's mouth was agape, shocked; it was bad enough that he thought that he would lose _two hundred thousand yen_, but now, he was going to have to up the payment to hire them? He had half a mind to say no; he could always find other bodyguards willing to accept two hundred thousand, maybe even less! But the Sabaku Trio was the best of the best, and his daughters deserved nothing but the best! Still…that was a lot of money, and money didn't grow on trees! Hiashi knew that if he declined and hired a different group, he was going to deeply regret it should any harm fall upon him or his family. He bit his lip, unsure of what to do; spend the money and save his daughters? Or should he employ someone else and have the risk of something dangerous happen to his precious Hinata and Hanabi?

Hiashi sighed. "…How much do you want?"

"2 million,"

The Hyuuga head almost fell out of his seat. "_2 million_!" Hiashi gasped. "What are you thinking?!"

"I'm thinking that if you don't pay us the money, we walk." Gaara told him; his siblings stared at him in shock.

Hiashi gritted his teeth. "You drive a hard bargain for someone so young…"

_Snot-nosed brat…_

* * *

Hinata took in a deep breath, feeling her heart beat rapidly in her ear. She looked down at the light purple envelope in her hands, feeling her stomach flutter with anxiety.

Today was the day.

It was going to be the day she would look back and smile upon for the rest of her life.

Today was the day she was going to confess to Naruto Uzumaki, her crush ever since grade school. She had always planned out what to say to him in advance; she had thought of the perfect words that would woo him; she even thought of what he would say and how he would wrap his arms around her and murmur, "I love you, Hinata." Her face heated up even more—if that was even possible at that point; she was already as red as a ripe tomato!

Oh, there he was!

His toned arms and crazy blonde hair made her want to faint, but she couldn't, not now, when she was so close to her goal! But then there were his beautiful blue eyes, always sparkling with happiness and mischievous ideas. That was what Hinata adored the most about him, though. He was so strong and independent; he didn't care what anybody thought about him and he looked authority straight in the eye as he flicked them off. Hinata could only wish that she was that self-confident.

Hinata was ugly and shy; she was the black sheep of her family. She wasn't good at fighting, and she was starting to fall behind in her classes; the only thing she was really good at was gardening. Her father didn't approve of it though; he said that it was disgraceful and a waste of time and that she should just concentrate on taking over the family company. She was self-conscious and always worried about what people thought about her; it bothered Hinata to know that she wasn't as brave or determined like Sakura and Ino—the popular girls of the school—but even so, she couldn't change herself. Many times she had tried and it all ended in failure.

But not today; she was going to round up all of the courage she had in her frail body and she was going to give him the love note, even if it killed her!

She nodded, biting her bottom lip. "Alright," Hinata whispered. "I-I'm going to do it."

Just as she was about to take a step forward, a pale hand behind her snatched the memo out of her slender fingers; she yelped, surprised. Putting on the meanest glare she could come up with, she whipped around, ready to give the bully a fierce smack to the head; that was…until she came face to face with a pair of green eyes. Hinata froze; whatever she was going to say got caught in her throat. The stranger's eyes were beautiful, but they were so cold; she thought she saw a hint of blue inside his orbs, but she could see a hard edge to them, too.

He raised the letter and, without taking his eyes off of her, quietly said, "A love note,"

Not knowing what to do, the young Hyuuga only managed a nod and a small squeal, staring up at him. He was at least a head or two taller than her! "C-could I have that b-back please?" she whispered fearfully, reaching for it; he pulled his hand away.

"I highly doubt your father would be happy with this."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Yes! After updating "Speak," I finally finished this first chapter, which has been sitting in my folder for quite a while now!**

**Jin: We hope you enjoyed this; it's her first attempt at a gaahina story. Normally, she's a fan of sasuhina.**

**Well, I honestly think I did pretty well for a beginner; all that needs to be thought of is the plot…whoops…**

**Jin: Yes, expect a slow update…**

**Please review! Remember, reviews make the world go round!**


	2. What's Left of Her Freedom

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or its characters in anyway; we do own the plot and OC's—should there be any—so please do not steal!**

**A/N:**

**Welcome to chapter two of **_**Guarding the Body**_**!**

**Yes, I know, the summary changed…again… Sorry, but I didn't like that last one, or the one before…but finally, I have thought of one that has amused me!**

**Jin: Thankfully…**

… **Well, anyways, I know I've been gone…for quite a while, and there really is no excuse except…well, I just lost my writing mojo, I suppose I could put it. I am sorry for such a long wait, but I guess this is a good time as any to say: SLOW UPDATE ALERT.**

**Jin: Yeah…a few months later than it should've been, but better late than never, you know.**

**So, read on my minions, and be wary of the fluffy white bunnies with green mutated carrots! I don't care if they're cute and fluffy! The adorable ones are the ones you must watch out for…**

**

* * *

**Guarding the Body

_-What's Left of Her Freedom-_

"Father," Hinata pushed opened the doors and stepped into her father's office; he smiled, welcoming her with open arms.

"Hinata!" Hiashi grinned, happy to see his daughter safe and well, albeit angry. He glanced to the red head behind her, near the doorway, and his beam grew even bigger; the fact that she was mad meant that the bodyguards were doing their job. They had better be, anyways; he wasn't wasting 2 million yen just for the fun of it!

She ignored his gesture for a hug and continued. "W-what is the meaning of t-this?" she asked as furiously as she could, waving her hands toward the Sabaku Trio member. "D-did you hire b-bodyguards when I s-specifically asked you n-not to?"

The Hyuuga head's eyes suddenly hardened; he could feel his patience withering away. They had had that conversation for quite a while; he had discussed with her about the importance of having someone defend her and protect her from the evil of men, but the young lady would not listen. She loved her freedom, and she loved her privacy; having someone stalk her every hour of every day made her nauseous with disgust.

"It's for the best," Hiashi said; there was a firm edge to his voice that told her to back down, but Hinata did no such thing.

"I can t-take care of m-myself, Father," she protested feebly. Both knew very well that she could not; Hinata couldn't fight off a mosquito! How did she expect to defend herself from a group of teenage boys from the underground lords?

"Hinata, I grow weary of this discussion," he warned her, glaring at his daughter.

"Please, F-Father, just listen t-to what I h-have to say."

"I have heard enough," he snapped. "I do what I do because I love you, Hinata; sometimes, you may not like the things I do, but you're just going to have to deal with it."

"But—"

He raised his hand, a gesture for her to keep quiet and to let him finish. "It's too late; we've already signed the contract. The deal is for him," he motioned to Gaara, "To protect you. His brother will be watching over me along with my own personal guards, and their sister shall accompany Hanabi."

Hinata had so much to tell her father; so many colorful words to choose from, but alas, she said not a word. She had to bite down on her tongue to keep from saying things that would force her father to relieve her of her gardening privileges. He was a man with a very short temper, she knew.

"Is that understood?" he narrowed his eyes slightly, as if daring her to say something out of line.

Reluctantly, Hinata nodded and lowered her head. "Yes," she whispered, her delicate hands clenching into fists.

"You are dismissed." Hiashi turned away from his daughter and gazed outside the window; a faraway look entered his eyes for a split moment before disappearing. He could hear his daughter's quiet footsteps as she headed for the door, and before the red-head could leave, Hiashi voice stopped him. "I'd like to speak with you, Mr. Sabaku,"

Silence answered, but the older male heard the door close softly; he turned back and stared at Gaara, motioning for him to sit down, but the guest merely ignored the gesture and remained rooted to the spot near the door.

"I wish to know what she has been up to at school today," Hiashi said, sitting in his large, leather chair behind the beautifully crafted desk. There were so many stacks of papers sitting on his table that he had to pick them up and set them down on the ground beside him. Finally, he could see the bodyguard standing across the room with nothing blocking his view. "Was there anything of interest that I should know about? Say…a certain blonde…?"

Gaara quietly headed toward his client, a dull glint in his eyes, but Hiashi could see slight curiosity in them. Reaching inside his pocket, he pulled out a lavender envelope and dropped it on Hiashi's table. The older of the two picked it up, instantly aware that it was a scented envelope, for he could smell the distinct fragrance of roses that it emitted. There could only be one person who liked lavender, rose-scented wrappings, and he highly doubted that Gaara was into such girly things.

"What is this?" Hiashi asked as he opened the little package with smoothly expert fingers as if he had secretly peeked at his daughters' private letters before, and pulled out the letter that was inside; oh, and look, it was also scented! Not to mention it looked _very_ familiar. He remembered buying such things for Hinata a few days ago; they were quite expensive for such a little amount, but it made his daughter happy so he surrendered and kept his opinions to himself. "Ah, a love note, I see."

As he opened the sheet, he raised a brow at Hinata's once intricately beautiful penmanship, now reduced to a horribly, unreadable chicken-scratch, and it seemed that she had forgotten the rules of grammar, too.

_Dear Naruto_

_I've liked you, __for a long time actually ever since third grade__ and I really hope you feel the same way about me._

_You don't have to give me your answer right away but Ill be waiting after schoool for an hour until the end of this week If you don't come… I'll understand._

_Signed_

_Hinata Hyuuga_

Hiashi looked up, obviously horrified and shocked. "My…Hinata wrote this?" he asked, just to clarify. Gaara nodded in response, and Hiashi dropped his eyes back down to the paper, rereading it, and rereading it, and rereading it again to make sure; the girl hadn't even edited it!

He admitted what was on his mind very reluctantly, though he wasn't talking to his daughter. "It's…terrible!" Then, he looked up for reassurance, but found none in the cold, sea green eyes. "She didn't even write the location! 'After school?' That doesn't tell him anything!"

With eyes scanning over the crudely written letter once more, he sighed, dropping it in the paper shredder beside his desk. "This is much worse than I thought…" he murmured quietly, more to himself than to the bodyguard standing before him. "I never expected her to give him a _love note_ for Pete's sake! Who knew she had it in her?" Cue another tired exhale.

"Would you like me to get rid of him?" He heard Gaara ask.

As Hiashi raised his head, ready to give him a reprimanding for even joking about the matter, he found that Gaara was not joking; he was serious. The grave stare and deathly calm look he saw on the young guard's face told him so; the red head did not joke about his work.

"No," he shook his head. "No, no, it'll cause too much of a problem."

"The police finding the body will not be a problem."

Another lift of his eyes and he found that Gaara was, again, not kidding.

"It is quite alright; just…keep a close eye on her."

A light bulb clicked above the man's head, and he stood up, his finger raised as if he was about to press some kind of invisible button on the ceiling. "As a matter of fact, while we're on this topic… I've got an idea! I want you to enroll in her school and in the same classes with her."

Gaara didn't look to happy about the suggestion, but he said nothing about his thoughts.

"24 hour protection," Hiashi mused. "I like it!"

* * *

Hinata let out an angry grunt of fury, dropping onto her bed in absolute enragement.

She couldn't believe her father would do such a thing—well, actually, she could; he had done it once before so it'd be very likely that he'd do it again. What she couldn't believe was that he would go behind her back!—No, wait, she could believe that, too.

After those thoughts, now she was just mad because she didn't want a bodyguard. She was just angry at her father for being the stereotypical Hiashi Hyuuga. Honestly, she didn't even know why she bothered complaining; he'd just go and ignore her words and do whatever he felt like doing. He could just be so awful sometimes.

Maybe she should run away—nah, that wouldn't work; she wouldn't even last a minute out in the big, bad world, as much as she hated to confess.

She could always take the easy way out: suicide. But she was too cowardly to cut herself—yes, she had tried once before—much less to take her own life.

Abruptly, her cell phone rang, and she sat up and crawled on the floor looking for it. After a few seconds, she found it underneath her sweatshirt—she made a mental note to clean up her room over the weekend—and flipped it open before the other person hung up.

"H-hello?" she said, cursing herself for forgetting to check the ID.

"HINATA!" a voice screeched on the other side.

She pulled the phone away from her ear, wincing slightly at the high pitched voice.

"HINATA!"

Scratch that—voice_s_.

"Ino? Ten-Ten?"

"Yeah, it's us." Ino answered, her excitement seeping in through her voice.

"So, tell us, how'd it go?" Ten-Ten continued eagerly. Hinata could practically see the girls jump up and down, unable to sit still for even a moment.

"Wh-what? How'd what g-go?" Her immense annoyance at her father and the one called Gaara wiped her mind of anything and everything she was supposed to do.

"You know…"

An awkward pause took place as the purple-headed girl thought back to her school periods, trying to recall what would be so interesting to her two friends that they'd call her on her cell phone, something that was only supposed to be used for emergencies, though she never carried it around with her.

Ino probed further after a frustrated sigh. "…Naruto?"

"And the love letter you were supposed to give him?" continued Ten-Ten.

Hinata yelped in sudden realization as the truth hit her harder and more painful than a flaming boulder hurdling at her faster than 100 miles per hour. She was supposed to give Naruto the letter and then wait for him after school by the flag pole, but then _he_ came and interrupted her…

"Spill! What did he say?"

"Did he come?"

"Come on! Tell us!"

She bit her bottom lip, uncertain and a bit nervous and ashamed.

Today was supposed to be _her_, her day to shine, her day to be brave; her day to get out of her shell and actually _do_ something instead of sitting around and daydreaming and _hoping _that something was going to happen.

"Well…" Hinata began quietly, moving onto her bed.

"Yes?"

"Uh huh?"

A short pause of silence.

Then, "Um… I didn't… I d-didn't g-give him the l-letter…"

Both girls on the other line screamed in unison: "WHAT?! WHY NOT?!" Sometimes, it was like talking to twins.

"There were…um…o-obstacles…" she admitted hesitantly; it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the whole truth. She figured that they didn't need to get entirely involved in her crazy affairs; after all, both of them were in advanced classes and they had boyfriends, too.

_They have enough to worry about._ She thought to herself. _I think I can handle this problem myself… I think…_

"Obstacles?" Ten-Ten repeated in confusion. "What kind of obstacles?"

"T-The…err…o-obstacle-y kind?"

Before she had a chance to hear their response on her sketchy answer, Gaara was beside her bed in a heartbeat and staring at her with eyes that were much too old and hardened to be a teenager's.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She backed up against the wall fearfully, barely even registering her friends' screaming on the phone, "Hinata? Who was that? A _guy_ we don't know about? Was he the obstacle?" And then there were giggles and squeals.

Well, they were partly right, but not in the sense they were currently thinking of.

She replied tensely, barely above a whisper. "I-I'm on the phone w-with m-my friends."

"Your friends?" he repeated; his voice was so emotionless, but it seemed that if he did show emotion, he'd sound incredulous—that thought didn't make her feel any better.

When neither said a thing—excluding the shrieks from Ino and Ten-Ten—she took the time to take things in: Gaara was in her room, and for what reason…? It surely wasn't going to be a good one.

"W-what are you d-doing in h-here?"

He held the bag up, and at her perplexed stare, he pulled her desk's chair toward a corner, opened the bag, pulled some fancy-looking contraption out, stood on the chair, and began securing it to the wall.

"N-no," she gasped, suddenly realizing what was going on.

"Yes." Gaara corrected. He stepped down from the chair and dragged it across the room, opening one of her three doors and finding that it led to the bathroom. Afterwards, he hauled the chair noisily into the bathroom, stood analyzing it for a few seconds, and then pulled it to a corner and began doing the same thing.

Hinata stood up and followed him, not knowing what to feel: shocked, disgusted, mad? She was actually feeling all of it at once. "C-cameras? In m-my room? Even i-in the bathroom?"

Another scream of her name from the phone caused the girl to pull it back to her ear and mutter a quick apology and good-bye.

"B-but, what about p-privacy! I-I have to change, and t-take the shower, a-and—" It was all too much for her; first the letter, then the bodyguard deal, and _now_?—cameras?! Her father really went overboard this time. Hinata could feel the tears coming on, but she did her best to hold it back; for some odd reason, her anger was connected to her tear ducts, a fact that she had cursed and despised herself for.

"That does not matter to me."

"D-did my f-father put y-you up to t-this?" she asked hotly, trying to sound mad, but at his cold eyes, fear overpowered her anger.

"Does it matter? You can't do anything about it."

"B-but, you can't d-do this!" She cried feebly, thinking of an excuse as fast as she could. Hinata was always being watched by her father; her life was practically dominated by him. Her room and the garden was her sanctuary; they were the only places that she could actually relax without a future to worry about or her grades that were beginning to drop.

"I-isn't this i-illegal?"

He turned toward her, his voice strict and commanding. "I can, and I will." Gaara stated, stepping down and walking into the hallway with Hinata following him; she noticed three more cameras in the corridors. He was about to open a door to another room, but Hinata stepped in his way, saying, "N-no."

He glared at her, the first change in his expression she had seen. "Move, girl."

She gulped, but did not move, amazing even herself with her stubbornness. "T-this is m-my precious s-sister's room. I-I can't let you i-in u-unless she says t-that it's o-okay…"

His glare hardened and she barely managed to suppress a whimper of fright. "Move. I won't say it again." When it looked like she wasn't obeying, he pushed her aside and she fell onto the carpet, scraping her hands in the process. Looking up in pain, terror, and resentment, she watched as he placed a camera in Hanabi's room, another one in her overly large closet, and then moved into her bathroom. As it became too much for Hinata to bear, she dashed down the stairs and pushed open her father's doors, ignoring the agony of the wood against her injury, and stepped into his office.

Hiashi looked up from his paperwork, a smile gracing his lips. "Ah, my lovely daughter, do you need help with your homework?"

"F-Father, he-he's placing cameras e-everywhere!" she said fiercely, trying to glare and yet failing miserably at it.

He seemed to grin even wider at the news. "Yes, isn't it wonderful?"

"No, i-it's not! H-he's putting them in m-my b-bathroom; it's d-disturbing and dis-disgusting!"

"Yes, I know. There is nothing to fear, Hinata." He said with a happy beam, tapping his fingers in a beat on his wooden table. "Don't worry; it is for the best."

"But--!" Realizing that her efforts were futile, she screeched inwardly, stomping out of her father's office and upstairs back into her room. Her father didn't understand her at all; he didn't even attempt to understand her. There really was no point in trying to communicate with him; everything he did was for the sake of the company, not out of love. He was protecting her because he didn't want his company to fail, not because she was his loving daughter; it was all business to him.

At that moment, when she didn't even want to see him, Gaara walked in with that ugly bag of his carrying those ugly cameras.

She disregarded his presence, hoping that if she didn't pay any attention to him, he'd turn around and go away, leaving her in peace. Of course, nothing ever turns out the way it's supposed to. Instead of exiting her room, he reached for her cell phone, which was lying on the floor from when she had dropped it in her livid fever.

"Um…t-that's mine." Hinata said, reaching out for it, but he had moved out of her way as if he was mocking how slow she was; it only served to exasperate her more. Did no one understand her anymore?

"I know." He headed for the door.

"Then, g-give it back!" When he turned back to stare at her with his scary eyes, she squeaked out a "Please…" like a little mouse.

"You won't need this anymore," he said, showing her what would be her last glimpse of her precious phone with all of her contacts; it wasn't much, but still…

"W-why?"

Gaara ignored her question and walked out the door, throwing over his shoulder, "I'll get you an old phone later. Excessive calls from superficial friends jeopardize your safety."

That. Made. ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AT ALL.

* * *

**Yeah…well I think that flew by a bit quickly, but that's okay, cause I wanted to get this up and running before Christmas.**

**Jin: Meh. Oh, and let us apologize in advance should there be any mistakes; I'm sure she overlooked a few when editing.**

**Yes, and now I have to do my homework…sniff sniff… But, reviews would make me feel a lot better you know?**


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